Peel – click to enlarge
Peel – click to enlarge
The Peel Wine Region is about 80km south of Perth, Western Australia, and forms part of the Greater Perth zone, shared with Perth Hills and Swan District.
It primarily encompasses the areas around Mandurah, Pinjarra, and Dwellingup, stretching inland from the coast and offering proximity to the Indian Ocean.
The European settlement of Peel dates back to 1829 when Thomas Peel brought three ships of migrants from England for the Peel settlement scheme. The work was harder than Peel expected, so he quit, and his grant was revoked. The government was unimpressed, and ¾ of his grant was revoked. However, this left him with ¼ of a million acres, and he founded what became known as the Peel Estate, from which the vineyard now takes its name.
Many years later, in 1857, a vineyard was established near Pinjara. It remained in production for over 40 years before the owner’s widow uprooted it in 1898.
Will Nairn started the first commercial vineyard in modern times at Peel Estate in 1974 with the planting of Shiraz. While other varieties have since been established, Shiraz remains the flagship variety here, and Peel Estate is the flagship producer.
Peel experiences a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Sea breezes help moderate temperatures, making the region conducive to grape growing. Sections of the region located inland and those at higher altitudes have stronger land breezes, higher rainfall and slightly lower temperatures.
